LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Lock Haven women’s wrestling team hosted the Region 1 Championships on Saturday, Feb. 24. The Bald Eagles crowned two champions and had six wrestlers who punched their ticket to compete in the 2023-24 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC). Overall, Lock Haven finished second out of 12 teams with 154 points, trailing Sacred Heart (203).
“I think it shows progress with the program,” Lock Haven head coach Matt Lackey said. “It was great to have 13 wrestlers enter the tournament. It was a tougher tournament this year. We wrestled hard and we’re happy with where we are. This is a great group of people but we got a few like Paige Jackson and Azariah Moore who weren’t expected to get through and they got through.”
At 109, Kaelani Shufeldt took first-place for the second year in a row. Shufeldt defeated Elmira’s Kaitlynn Potter by fall (1:01) in round one. In the quarterfinal match, Shufeldt won by pin (1:28) over Cedar Crest’s Leilani Martinez before earning a 10-0 tech fall victory over East Stroudsburg’s Alanna Barberio in the semifinals. In the final bout Shufeldt pinned Elmira’s Abby Duke in 4:47.
“It [qualifying for nationals] feels awesome,” Shufeldt said. “The end goal is to be on the top of the podium at nationals. That’s the goal right now but this is a great step to get there.”
Grace Stem brought home another championship for the Bald Eagles at 136 grabbing three tech fall victories, along with a pin. Stem made her way to the semifinal bout after pinning Western New England’s Sabrina Sedor in 1:57. Stem won by tech fall (10-0) over East Stroudsburg’s Ruth Ansah to advance to the first-place bout. A 12-2 tech fall victory over York’s Maura White gave Stem her second straight championship.
With their first-place finishes, Stem and Shufeldt officially qualified for the NCWWC National Championships
“Those are the leaders of our program,” Lackey mentioned. “They’re the ones that set the bar for everyone else to look at it and to follow them. This isn’t their goal. Their goal is to go to the nationals in a couple of weeks and win a title.”
At 130, Lily Sherer won her quarterfinal match by tech fall (13-3) over Elmira’s Gabby Bradigan. In the semifinals, Sherer won via an 8-1 decision victory over Sacred Heart’s Bayley Trang. With her victory in the semifinals, Sherer punched her ticket to the NCWWC National Championships. Sherer finished second after falling to East Stroudsburg’s Zoe Gress by pin (1:49).
“A pretty solid day,” Sherer said. “I did the things I was supposed to do. I wrestled smart. I qualified for nationals and got the job done and what matters now is March.”
Sherer has qualified for nationals for the third time in three years at The Haven.
“It’s kind of a surreal experience. We’re at a point in women’s wrestling where the sport is growing so much just to even be a part of what’s happening right now is super surreal. I keep reminding myself to be grateful every day for the opportunity to compete with an amazing team and an amazing coach and a great environment like The Haven.”
Joining Sherer, Stem, and Shufeldt as national qualifiers include Stella Steigler (170), Azariah Moore (155), and Paige Jackson (143). Steigler placed third, while Moore and Jackson placed fourth. Jackson won the true-fourth match over Ursinus’ Cloe Charlesworth by pin (2:15) to qualify for nationals.
Other place winners for Lock Haven include Emma Heslin (101), Jayleah Pletz (116), and Isabella DeVito (130) who all placed fifth. Madison Matta (136) placed sixth. Carly Gross (123) and Lindsay Laws (191) placed seventh.
UP NEXT:
The six national qualifiers will set their sights on the national championships on Mar. 8-9 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
